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I'm installing a wetroom style single glass panel screen on top of a shower tray. There is lots of advice out there regarding installation and I understand the theory of not sealing the inside but I have two questions: (1) I've seen advice to seal the inside of the wall channel and the...

Two quick questions re installing a pearlstone tray onto marine ply. (1) The manufacturer recommends a weak cement mix as a base. I've seen manufacturers of similar products state that floor tile adhesive can also be used. I happen to have floor tile adhesive but not some sand and cement...

Just installed a new Hudson Reed thermostatic shower valve. My problem is that the water temperature runs from hot (37c) to very hot (47c) when the temp control is rotated from C to H and is not possible to go lower than that. I've got a pressurised megaflow system and the hot and cold feeds...

I've got a modern condenser boiler and a house with 4 floors. I've just added two radiators in the cellar meaning there are a total of 8 radiators on the ground floor and in the cellar. I can get them to work individually or in pairs but not all together. The radiators on the top two floors...

Does anyone have any experience of using (e.g. Mav Wallrock)? I've got some uneven lime plaster walls which I can't face the time and mess of having fixed. This looks interesting but I'm not sure how effective it is.

I'm building a bookcase in a square alcove that isn't terribly square - it's out by + / - 10mm horizontally and vertically. My question is - what is the easiest way to fit shelves accurately in a recess where the walls either side and at the back are so out of true?

I'm building a series of raised planters in 21.5 wide hollow dense block that will be rendered and painted. In the middle I want to build a 2m high x 1.35 wide wall (3 blocks x 9) using the same blocks with a waterblade feature in the middle. Searching the net implies that anything over 1m...

I've just managed to pick up a load of travertine that I will use for a patio. I'm also going to build some raised planters out of denseblock and had planned to render them. However, I'll have enought stone left to clad them and use as coping. The stone is 3cm thick. Can I simply use a...

I'm about to fit a new composite "Maia" worktop in a utility area I've just created in my cellar. I'm going for the "industrial" look with lots of exposed (but painted) brick etc. Unfortunately, the wall it's going against meanders by about +_1.5cm along the length. The question is, do I...

My house is very old (c1780). The dining room walls are covered in very rough and badly patched lime plaster. In parts you can actually see the original timber framing in the walls (which the neighbours have made a feature of!) through the top coat and in other parts, the walls move if you...

The joints in my granite work surfaces are filled with a matt black filler that has started to break up. Any idea what it is and where I can get some more?

My house is very old and has lots of painted surfaces that have seen better days with a significant number of chips to the paint. Ideally I'd like to strip the paint completely as there are lots of layers but I'm concerned that the base ones may contain lead (two small children don't help)...

I'm building a section of rendered retaining wall in my garden (from medium density concrete block) that I want to build an "L" shaped bench against in the trendy cantilevered style with no visible supports. What's the best way to do this? The "long" section is 3m long and has a wall at each...

I've just replaced an old Saniflo unit with a new one (and fixed the problem with the toilet overflow posted earlier). Everything went incredibly smoothly until the final problem: the right angled bend that exits the unit and connects to the discharge pipe blows off or leaks each time the...

My existing Saniflo was knackered, so I've just bought a new one (the WC only version). The only problem is that they have updated the model and there now appears to be no connection for the cistern overflow. Surely these things can't be designed for internal overflow WC's only. The...

My cellar has a concrete screed floor that I'm looking to cover with something more practical (I use it as a utility room, workshop and gym). I really like the rubber or PVC floor tiles from companies like Desouple but they are prohibitively expensive (the cellar is around 60m2). I came...

I have just moved house and inherited a Saniflow macerator pump connected to a toilet in an ensuite. The problem is that the (very) noisy motor keeps springing into life every 15 minutes or so, even at night! Is this normal? Are they meant to do this? I'd imagine that they should only...

I may be about to show my ignorance but.... My hot water cylinder has (amongst others) two pipes of interest: one exiting mid-way up and connecting to a 3-way electronic valve that's wired to my boiler timer and the other exiting at the bottom and linking up to the middle down pipe of the...

Had my boiler serviced under a BG service contract last week. I have a feeling the engineer was having a bad day as: (1) He fell down our stairs and smashed the light switch (when he conveniently forgot to tell us about) and (2) Left the fill tap open on our sealed central heating system...

I live in a turn of the century terraced house and some of the paintwork is decidedly shoddy - peeling and flaking in a number of places. Underneath the paint there are numerous layers of old paint. The base layers are a lovely shade of green and I image they contain a healthy quantity of...